Collapse
by DoingItMyWay
Summary: Mike needs Harvey's help when he is forced out of his apartment. Harvey to the rescue! Not intended as slash, but it's open to interpretation.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! Thanks for all the positive feedback from my other story. It was my first ever and I'm so glad that you liked it. Here's my second endeavor into fanfiction writing. There's room for more chapters with this if people are interested.**

**Oh, by the way, who else hates Trevor right now? I don't know if I can wait until next summer...**

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><p>*ring* *ring* *ring*<p>

Harvey scrubbed a hand across his face before reaching for the cell phone resting on his end table. "Mike" flashed on the overly bright screen right above the clock that read 2:42am. Harvey couldn't stop the aggravated groan that started somewhere in his toes before hitting the silent button. It was his day off and he had no intention of talking to Mike. It wasn't his day to babysit; surely the kid could fend for himself for a little while. He rolled over and rearranged the blankets as he got comfortable again.

*ring* *ring* *ring*

Harvey grabbed the phone and hit the button to answer the call. "If you're waking me up at this unholy hour of the night and you're not in the middle of being killed, you're fired," he growled out.

"I'm sorry," came Mike's voice and immediately Harvey sat up knowing something was wrong. "I didn't know who else to call. I need your help."

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><p>The first thing that Harvey noticed as he pulled into Mike's neighborhood was the flashing lights from the emergency vehicles and a flurry of activity as personnel moved around the scene. Finding something that could pass as a parking spot Harvey climbed out of the car and started making his way to where a large group of people were huddled near a tent. He had no idea where Mike was in this mess but he was going to find him.<p>

Harvey approached the tent, which appeared to be staffed by relief workers handing out blankets and collecting information. Huddled in the back of the group Harvey noticed Mike standing with a blanket wrapped around him. He was wearing what appeared to be sleepwear and he looked like a mess. His hair was even more mussed than usual and he had streaks of dirt across his face, arms and clothes.

"Hey, Mike!" Harvey called out trying to get his attention as he pushed his way over.

"I'm sorry Harvey. I didn't have anyone else that I could call and they won't just let me go because they said I had to be released to someone so that the staff knew I was being taken care of and I don't want to go to one of their shelters," Mike was in full rambling mode and waving his arms all over the place.

Harvey reached out to grab his arms and still them. "It's ok, just tell me what happened. What do you mean released to someone?"

Mike looked up at his boss and noted the concern on his face and the way his eyes kept trying to look into Mike for the answers that he wanted. "My apartment building had a partial collapse. I don't really know what happened, just that I woke up to this crazy noise and shaking. They condemned the building and we're not allowed in right now, not even to get our stuff."

"Are you hurt? Have you been checked out?" Harvey was doing his own once over to check for any place where Mike might be hurt. Aside from the dirt smudges he looked unharmed, just very shaken up.

"I'm not hurt," Mike confirmed, shrugging his shoulders underneath the gray wool blanket. "I just didn't know what else to do."

"Ok, let's make sure that you can leave and that they don't need anything else from you." Harvey steered Mike towards one of the relief workers and after giving his own contact information and explaining that he would take responsibility for Mike the two were able to leave.

When they got to the car Mike slid into the passenger seat and hung his head. It had been a long night. "Thanks for coming to get me. You could just drop me off at a hotel or something."

"No, I don't think so," came the unexpected reply causing Mike to look up at Harvey. "You can stay at my place for now until we figure something else out. Its 3:30. No one will let you check in and you probably don't even have your wallet on you." Mike's sheepish look was enough to tell Harvey that he was right.

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><p>The drive to Harvey's condo was silent, both men lost in their own thoughts. In fact, Mike wasn't even sure how they got inside the swank apartment but all of a sudden there they were. He couldn't remember the car ride, or the walk into the building, or the elevator ride. It was disorienting to suddenly be in a new location with no recollection of getting there. The panic started to build in his chest and it was becoming harder to breathe. He could feel his pulse pounding like his heart wanted to beat right out of his chest. It wasn't until Mike looked over at Harvey walking next to him that he felt some of the tension ease away. Harvey wouldn't let anything happen to him, he was safe with his boss nearby.<p>

"…a shower," Harvey was saying as he moved down the entrance hall of the apartment and Mike shook his head a little as if to clear away his thoughts.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Harvey had turned and was looking at Mike with concern and Mike had the feeling that he missed the better part of a whole conversation.

"I said that I would get you some clean clothes while you took a shower," Harvey said slowly, watching Mike closely to make sure the kid got the message this time. Mike just nodded and moved off to the door that Harvey was pointing to. Harvey watched him walk away and took a deep breath before walking into his bedroom and pulling some clean sleep pants and a t-shirt out of the dresser drawer. He could hear the water running in the bathroom and he went back out to the living room to sit on the couch and flip on the TV.

Mike stripped off his shirt and pants before starting the shower. He glanced at himself in the mirror and cringed at the reflection, his face was pale and there were dark circles under his eyes. He felt like he had just fallen asleep when his world literally collapsed around him. Mike climbed under the spray and enjoyed several moments of the hot water warming his cool skin. Mike finished his shower and dried himself off before wrapping the towel around his waist and going to search for the clothes that Harvey had promised.

Mike wandered out into the living room and noticed Harvey sitting on couch with the TV on. Harvey must have heard Mike coming because without turning around he said "The clothes are on the bed. And don't even think of snooping around my room while you're in there."

After changing into black sweats and a grey shirt Mike returned to the living room and sat on the other end of the couch from his boss. He could feel Harvey eyeing him carefully but when he looked over Harvey was back to watching the TV. After a couple of minutes the infomercial switched to regular commercials and Harvey got up and moved into the kitchen. "Did you want something to eat Mike? I can make you something if you're hungry."

"No, I'm not hungry. Thanks though. I'm more tired than anything really." As if to prove his point he burrowed himself deeper into the corner of the couch and rested his head on his hand while he closed his eyes. Harvey watched him from where he stood before walking into the bedroom again and taking a spare blanket out of the closet. By the time he returned he could tell Mike was holding onto the last threads of reality, and only barely at that.

"Lay down," Harvey said softly and watched as the young man shifted on the couch to obey without so much as opening his eyes. Once he had settled on his side Harvey covered him with the blanket and stepped back to watch him quietly.

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><p><em>Mike had just walked into his apartment and rested his bike against the wall just inside the door. It had been a typically long day of work at the office<em> _and he was glad to be able to relax for a while. Harvey had given him the next day off and he planned on sleeping through it because boy did he need to catch up. Mike wandered into the kitchen and searched his fridge, finally deciding on the left-over Chinese that was sitting on the shelf. It still smelled ok anyway. After a quick dinner Mike hopped in the shower and then readied for bed. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow._

_All of a sudden there was a loud crashing, rumbling noise. Mike was startled out of his sleep but couldn't see anything in the dark room. The world was shaking beneath him and Mike heard his books fall off the shelf and the light fixture rattling on the ceiling. He climbed out of bed and tripped over the blankets that had fallen to floor. It was so hard to stand when the earth beneath you wouldn't stay still. The bedroom was tipping, when had his floor decided to slant to the right? Somehow Mike stumbled his way into the living room, bouncing off the hallway walls as he went, when there was another huge crashing noise. Why was it so dark? Mike couldn't see anything and all he could hear was the strange and horrible noise all around him. Was that someone screaming? Suddenly the floor lurched again causing Mike to crash shoulder first into the wall behind the couch. Mike braced himself against the wall to help keep his balance and moved to the left where the door should be. His hand reached along the smooth surface of the wall waiting to feel the door knob. It should be coming up soon; the wall never seemed this long before. All of a sudden Mike felt his hand bump into the corner where the two walls met. Where the hell was his front door? Mike starting walking back the way he came, still braced on the wall. He must have turned himself around in the dark and the door would be the other way. Again the floor underneath his feet swayed causing Mike to fall away from the wall into the middle of the room, landing on his stomach. If he couldn't find the door when he was walking along the wall how would he find it now? It was ridiculous to think that he was lost in own apartment. Suddenly that loud crashing noise starting again and Mike felt something large and heavy fell across the backs of his legs, trapping them in place. Mike tried pulling his legs out but they wouldn't budge and the strain caused his legs to hurt even worse. He couldn't twist in place enough to try and move this…thing off of him. He tried yelling for help but the deafening noise was all around him and who would hear him over that? Mike could feel the tears pouring down his face as he realized that he was trapped in his apartment until someone found him. Then the floor started to shake right underneath him and oh my god it felt like it was falling apart…_

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><p>Harvey rolled over in his bed and glanced at the clock on the nightstand whose red numbers showed 5:57. The apartment seemed still and quiet leaving Harvey to wonder why he was awake again when he should be sleeping like a baby. He had only been asleep for maybe half an hour after he left Mike on the couch. Then he heard it, a soft whimpering sound coming from the living room. Harvey was on his feet and moving out into the living room before he could fully process what was happening.<p>

Mike was tossing and turning on the couch, having kicked the blanket onto the floor. His hand was reaching out to his side almost like he was searching for something. The kid had broken out into a sweat and he had a look of pure panic on his face even in sleep. The whimpering noise sounded again and Harvey approached the couch trying to avoid getting punched or kicked by Mike's flailing limbs. He managed to sit on the couch and hold Mike's arms against his body as the smaller man continued to struggle. Harvey pulled Mike into his chest and tried to wake him up out of the nightmare.

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><p><em>The floor was falling apart beneath him and Mike couldn't move because he was trapped by this something that was lying across his legs. He tried to kick, tried to pull himself loose using just his arms. It was no use; he was well and truly trapped. All of a sudden things started to fall around him again and he threw his arms up to cover his head. The floor below him, the ceiling above him, it was all falling apart and there was no one to help him, no way he could get himself out. With one final gigantic shake the floor beneath him gave way and Mike was falling, falling, faster and faster. "Nooooooo….."<em>

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><p>Harvey was startled by the sudden scream. Until now Mike had been struggling relatively quietly in his arms, occasionally whimpering, but not screaming. Mike must have woken himself up with his own scream because all of a sudden he went completely silent, completely still to the point that Harvey wondered if he was still breathing. After only a few seconds Mike started to struggle in earnest, twisting as hard as he could to get himself loose. Harvey just held on tighter afraid the kid would accidentally hurt himself in his blind panic. He spoke as soothingly as possible to help Mike calm down. "It's ok Mike. I'm right here. You're safe right now, there's nothing that's going to hurt you. It's ok. Calm down. Wake up for me Mike. It's ok, sh." On and on he went muttering the same soothing nonsense in the same calm tone until he felt Mike starting to relax.<p>

Mike was woken up by a scream that he didn't realize was his own. He stared at the unfamiliar surroundings trying to figure out where he was when he realized that he was still trapped. He couldn't move! The world was falling apart around him and he didn't understand it but he knew he needed to get out. He needed out but he couldn't move, something was holding him in place and if he didn't get out he was going to die. He started struggling to free himself as he twisted and turned and kicked his legs. Suddenly there was a voice, but it sounded so far away and Mike had no idea what it was saying. Maybe if he could get to the voice he would be saved. The more he struggled the more trapped he felt. Then it dawned on him, because Mike was a genius after all, that his legs had been trapped when he was in his apartment but now his legs were free and his arms were trapped and he definitely wasn't in his apartment anymore. The voice was still there though and Mike tried harder to focus on what that voice was saying. "Wake up for me Mike. It's ok, sh." Mike slowly stopped struggling and opened his eyes again trying to figure out where he was. The voice was still talking in his ear and suddenly it hit Mike; that voice belonged to Harvey. He was with Harvey, and he remembered thinking that as long as he was with the older man that he would be safe. Mike turned around slowly and looked at Harvey sitting next to him for a second before bursting into tears.

Harvey was startled by the sheer panic and fear in Mike's eyes when he turned to him. There was a sudden flood of anxiety as Harvey questioned his ability to help Mike through this mess. But then Mike burst into tears and launched himself into Harvey's arms and buried his head in Harvey's neck. To his own credit Harvey didn't even hesitate to wrap his arms around Mike and hold him while he cried. The sobs wracked Mike's body from head to toe and the tears were drenching Harvey's shirt. The two men sat on the couch like that until Mike started to calm down. Instead of crying he was sniffling now but he still had a death grip on Harvey's shirt and he wasn't letting go. Harvey continued to run his fingers through Mike's hair with one hand and hold him tightly with the other.

Mike hadn't cried like this since his parents died; the gut-wrenching sobs that come from the depths of your soul. He could feel Harvey rocking him slightly as they sat on the couch next to each other. Mike wasn't crying because he was still scared, he knew that he was safe now. He was crying because of the fear he felt in his dream and because he had just realized how close he came to maybe being seriously hurt. He cried for what felt like hours. As his sobbing subsided he burrowed deeper into the arms that were wrapped around him and settled into the comfortable presence of his mentor.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Harvey asked after Mike had settled against him and he in turn had settled into the couch. Mike's only answer was a shake of his head and a sniffle. "Ok, you don't have to. Just relax." Harvey continued to thread his fingers through Mike's blonde hair, enjoying how it seemed to help Mike relax.

Mike felt himself growing increasingly drowsy as Harvey's ministrations lulled him back to sleep. He was warm and comfortable resting against Harvey. His nightmare and the crying had left him completely exhausted and he had no energy left to fight his need for sleep. He wasn't afraid of going to back to sleep as long Harvey was going to be there. "Harvey, don't leave," he mumbled into Harvey's chest as he dropped off into a thankfully dreamless sleep.

"Don't worry buddy, I'll be here."


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for all the reviews and favorites and encouragement! It means a lot. So several people asked for this story to be continued and I can see a lot of potential for it. This is kind of just a filler chapter while I get my thoughts together about where I want this to go. If anyone has any ideas let me know. I'll try to incorporate them into the story. Make it interactive you know? Anyway, hope you enjoy...**

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><p>Harvey woke later that morning and lifted his head off of the couch, looking around the room blearily. He tried to shift his right arm and then looked over when he couldn't. Seeing Mike resting against him brought back all the memories of the night before, well really just earlier that morning; Mike calling him for help, the nightmare, Mike crying himself to sleep. Harvey knew that the kid needed all the rest that he could get and so he sat there without moving and laid his head back on the couch to stare at the ceiling.<p>

Would he be able to help Mike through the coming days? The worry from last night came flooding back in full force now that he wasn't preoccupied with a crying Mike. Harvey had never had to take care of anybody before, not even a pet, so how would he know what to do? Well, it wasn't like Mike was unable to care for himself. He just needed a place to stay until his apartment was either fixed or he could find a new one. It would be more of a roommate thing than Harvey having to care for Mike. A roommate Harvey could deal with, he had done that in college. And he liked Mike a hell of a lot more than he liked that idiot that the school stuck him with. But still, after living by himself for so long suddenly having someone in his condo all the time would be a hard adjustment. At that moment Harvey felt Mike shift against him and snuggle a little closer. Yep, Harvey was going to have to get used to a roommate again alright, there was no way he was going to tell Mike he had to leave.

Harvey must have fallen back asleep because the next time he woke he was alone on the couch. He listened carefully to the apartment but couldn't hear anything. Slowly he got up and stretched his back and legs; he was getting too old to be sleeping on the couch like that. First he checked the kitchen, and then the bathroom, the bedroom, then the office but Mike was nowhere. Harvey was just starting to worry when he heard the door open and he walked down the hallway to see Mike coming in carrying bags of food. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.

Mike glanced up as he heard Harvey approaching. "Oh good, you're up. I went out for some Chinese since we slept through breakfast. Hope that's ok," Mike said as he moved into the kitchen and started emptying the bags. He opened a couple of cabinets before finding the one with the plates. He started looking through the drawers for silverware when Harvey cut him off and pointed to the right drawer.

"It's the second one over." Harvey sat at the island in the kitchen and accepted the plate of food that Mike passed over. He couldn't figure out why he was so hungry until he looked at the clock on the stove and saw that it was after 1pm. The two ate in silence and then put the dishes in the sink. Suddenly Harvey's cell rang in the other room and Harvey jogged into the living room to pick it up so it wouldn't go to voicemail.

Mike sat in the kitchen, thinking. What was he going to do? He couldn't stay here for much longer, Harvey would never let that happen. Trevor was in no position to help him out at all. His grandmother was in a nursing home so she wouldn't be able to do anything. He couldn't ask Rachel for a place to stay; they didn't have that kind of relationship. Actually, Mike wasn't sure what kind of relationship they did have but he knew he couldn't ask her for help like this. In fact, Mike didn't want to ask anyone for help, he had always been the 'do it himself' kind of guy. He had only called Harvey because he really didn't have any other choice. It was his thoughts of the older man that brought him back to reality when he heard snippets of the conversation taking place in the other room.

"…yeah…he's fine for right now…I don't know what's going to happen. No, you're not coming over. I can just call you if he needs anything….You don't think I can take care of this? Do not come over…..Fine, I'll see you in an hour." Harvey walked back into the kitchen shaking his head as he put the cell in the pocket of his sleep pants. He ran a hand through his un-gelled and messy hair and then looked up at Mike who was watching him with an amused grin on his face.

"Who was that on the phone? Who would be coming over after you strictly told them not to twice?" Mike couldn't help but laugh at the look on Harvey's face.

"That was Donna. She heard about the building collapse on TV and called demanding to know if I knew anything. Then she yelled at me for not calling her right away and telling her that you're here and safe. So now she needs to come over and yell at me some more in person and check to make sure with her own eyes that you're actually ok." Harvey shook his head again with fond grin on his face. "I'm going to change before she comes over."

"Gotta make sure you look good, right?" Mike couldn't help but tease his boss as he walked out of the room. Mike chucked again and stood up to change himself when it hit him. He didn't have any clothes except the pants and shirt he was wearing when Harvey picked him up. He didn't have anything that he could change into. All of his stuff, ALL OF IT, was back in his ruined apartment and who knew when he would be able to get any of it, if he could ever get it. Mike stumbled back into the chair that he been sitting in and dropped his head into his hands. This was going to be so screwed up. He was homeless and had no possessions. The tears started again and Mike didn't even bother to hide them.

Harvey was walking back into the kitchen after changing into jeans and a dark button down shirt when he heard the sniffles. He stopped just out of view and listened to Mike crying softly in the kitchen. Lunch had gone ok and Mike had seemed to be doing well so Harvey couldn't figure out what had happened in five minutes to upset the kid. After another minute or so Harvey walked into the kitchen quietly and sat next to Mike. "You know, if you don't want Donna to come over, you're gonna have to tell her. I'm in enough hot water as it is. Plus she already didn't listen to me twice this morning."

Mike chuckled as he wiped away the tears but he still wouldn't look at Harvey. "No, it isn't Donna and I would like to see her I guess. It's silly really and this is a totally a girly comment but I don't have anything to wear."

Harvey flinched as he realized why the young man was so upset. He had walked off to change without even considering that Mike had nothing. "Don't worry about your girly comments. I'm use to them coming out of your mouth by now. Let's go see what I have that you can wear for now. Sorry, I don't have any dresses but if you call Donna quick she might be able to bring you some." Mike just rolled his eyes as the two made their way back to Harvey's bedroom. The older man started digging through his closet before he came up with a pair of khakis and a t-shirt that might actually fit the scrawny kid that would be wearing them. Mike took the offered clothes and disappeared into the bathroom to change.

The knock sounded on the door and Harvey moved over to let Donna in. She breezed past him and down the hall without so much as a "hello" before moving into the kitchen and the living room. She came back a moment later and crossed her arms over her chest and glared. "Where is he? Where's Mike?"

Harvey cautiously approached his angry assistant and pointed to the other side of the room. "He's changing. I'm sure he'll be out in just a minute since he knows you're coming. And really, you didn't have to but I think it will cheer him up to have you here."

"I told you that my coming over was the right thing to do. You should listen to me more often," Donna returned as she dropped her arms. The look on her face turned worried as she asked "How is he doing? I mean really, he's not hurt or anything?"

"No, he's not hurt, just really shaken up." Harvey rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, wondering just how much he should share with the woman. Then again, this was Donna and she would just find out anyway. "He cried himself to sleep last night. He was crying again this morning. I want to help him but I don't know how."

Donna could see the anguish on her boss' face and she instantly took pity on him. She reached out and rested her hand on his arm. "You're already doing so much for him. Don't doubt your ability to help him. Just making sure that he's not alone is the best thing right now. Everything else will work itself out."

"I haven't talked to him about it yet but I've decided to let him stay here as long as he needs. We need to replace almost everything; clothes, credit cards, checkbooks, we could have his mail forwarded here for now…" Harvey had a far-away look on his face as he continued to think through the list of things that needed to be done.

Donna couldn't stop the smile that took over her face as Harvey kept muttering "we have to do this" and "we're going to do that." She glanced over to the hall that led toward the bedroom when she saw Mike start walking toward them. She squeezed Harvey's arm quick and then ran over to Mike, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing. "I'm so glad you're ok! I saw it on the news and I was so worried about you and I called your cell phone but you didn't answer and then I just became even more worried."

"Yeah, I didn't grab my cell as I ran out of the apartment last night. It's still back there somewhere," Mike answered as he returned the woman's hug. The two parted after several minutes, though the long hug wasn't the least bit awkward, and all three sat in the living room.

"We'll get you a new phone Mike. I need to be able to reach you, you know, when your more than five feet from me" Harvey grinned as he flipped the TV on.

The three made easy conversation just enjoying each other's company. As dinner time approached Donna and Harvey agreed on an upscale Italian place that the two frequented when they had working lunches or dinners. "I'll meet you two there ok? I have to go home and change. I'll make a reservation for 7pm," Donna was saying as she was getting ready to go.

"Good. We'll see you there," Harvey walked Donna to the door, since he was a gentleman, and then turned back to Mike. "What do you say we go do some shopping for you? You'll need your own clothes. Unless you want to wear mine."

Mike shook his head but was avoiding eye contact again. "No, I don't want to wear your clothes for the next who knows how long. Not that I don't appreciate you letting me borrow them. I just don't have any money right now until I can get to the bank. And I definitely can't afford that restaurant we're going to."

"Hey, look at me." Harvey waited until Mike made eye contact before continuing. "I know that you're not use to depending on people and that you've been on your own for some time. But right now? Right now is the time that you let someone else step in for you. I'm not offering to help you out here because I want to hold it over your head, or gossip about it at work, because I don't do that, or give you shit because something completely out of your control happened. If you want to repay me then we'll work something out. But until then you need clothes and a decent meal and whatever else I feel like buying you. Got it?"

Mike just stared dumbly at his boss as he processed that little speech. It was true; he had been fending for himself for a long time. His grandma was older when he moved in with her and she wasn't able to do a whole lot. All of a sudden here was Harvey offering what seemed like unlimited resources and it was a lot to wrap his head around. "If I didn't know better, I would say that you care about me," Mike grinned but Harvey caught the gratitude that was shining brightly in Mike's eyes even if he couldn't say the words.

"It's a good thing you know better than, huh?" Harvey rolled his eyes affectionately before grabbing Mike's arm and pulling him toward the door. "Come on, we've got a little over an hour to shop before the reservations that Donna is making."

The shopping trip went by quickly enough and then they were off to dinner. The company was relaxed and the conversation flowed easily. If anyone had been paying attention it would look like the three of them did this on a regular basis. After dinner, in the parking lot, Donna couldn't help but hug Mike again. "You call me if you need anything ok? Even if you just need to get away from the big guy for a bit," she said. Harvey couldn't help but scoff at that.

"Ok. Thanks for everything Donna. It was fun tonight and I needed that," Mike returned the hug before he and Harvey watched Donna move toward her car and then drive off.

"Come on, kid." Harvey had turned back to his car already but waited for Mike.

The drive home was silent but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was the kind of silence that two people who know each other well can share. Harvey could tell that Mike was exhausted again, almost asleep in the passenger seat. Once Harvey parked the car he nudged Mike's shoulder and the two walked from the garage to the condo. As soon as they got into the apartment they each got ready for bed. As Harvey walked down the hall toward his bedroom Mike came out of the bathroom. "The blanket is on the couch for you. And you know, if you need anything I'll just be in here," Harvey hooked his thumb over his shoulder indicating his bedroom. If Mike was going to have another nightmare Harvey wanted him to know that he was close.

"Yeah, thanks," Mike answered and gave a little nod to show that he understood exactly what Harvey was saying. The two separated and Mike settled himself on the couch. He grinned into the dark before rolling over and going to sleep. 'Harvey totally cares.'


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning was busy. Donna had rearranged their schedule so that Harvey and Mike could finish the errands they hadn't gotten to the previous day. They stopped to get Mike some new suits, went to the bank to get new cards, went to phone store for a new cell, called the post office to have Mike's mail forwarded to Harvey's place and finally stopped in to see Mike's grandmother so she would know that Mike wasn't hurt in the building collapse. It was just shy of lunch time and Mike was already exhausted, not having slept so well the previous night. After saying good night to Harvey, Mike had sat on the couch and stared at the wall for a long while. He had so many thoughts running through his head he wasn't able to fall asleep. He wasn't sure how much longer Harvey was going to let him stay, or if he should look for a new apartment or wait to see if he could move back into the one he (sort of) had now. At some point Mike must have fallen asleep because he woke himself up with a start, sweaty and panting. He didn't remember the nightmare, didn't remember any details at all. He considered waking Harvey, but what would he say? 'I think I had a nightmare but I don't remember it so maybe I didn't have a nightmare but could you keep me company anyway?' Yeah, that would go over well.

Mike was pulled from his thoughts as the town car pulled up to the law offices. Both men got out and headed inside, flashing their badges at security and making their way to the elevator. "Mike, I need you start looking into the Brenner/Cassidy files. Also, we're going to have to talk to Jessica as soon as she's available so keep your phone close and I'll call you when we're going in," Harvey said while doing something on his own phone.

"Why do we have to see Jessica? What did I do?" Mike couldn't remember doing anything wrong recently. A couple stupid little mistakes, yeah, but nothing that Harvey had seemed upset about. Things had been going good for awhile now.

"You didn't do anything wrong. Why do you always think you're in trouble? We have to talk to Jessica about you staying with me. We don't want her finding out some other way. With something like this it's best to just be upfront about it." Harvey had put his phone back in his pocket and was walking out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened.

Mike just shrugged his shoulders and made his way over to his cubicle. He didn't have his messenger bag with him, it was still in his apartment, so he had all his paperwork in his hands. The pile thumped where he dropped it and he immediately headed over to the break room for coffee.

"Oh my God, Mike! I'm so glad you're ok," Rachel approached him as soon he entered the break room and startled Mike. He had thought he had been alone. "I heard about it on TV and I kept trying to call you. How are you holding up?"

Mike looked over at Rachel and relaxed at the sincerity on her face. She was worried about him, not just digging for information, although there were plenty of other people who would be doing that soon enough. "I'm ok Rachel. It's been a hard adjustment but I'm not hurt. My phone is somewhere in my apartment so I never got your calls." Mike had finished making his cup of coffee and took a delighted sip. He just needed the caffeine to kick in.

"Do you have somewhere to stay? You're not at a shelter or something right? I don't really have the room in my apartment for a guest but I can help you find something."

Mike grinned at the offer. "I'm staying with someone right now. I'm not sure how long I can crash there though so if I have to start looking for a new place I would definitely appreciate the help."

The two grinned at each other before heading to their respective desks. Mike was glad that Rachel didn't ask any more questions, he wouldn't know how to explain that he was staying with his boss. Then again, Rachel was a top paralegal at the top law firm in the city for a reason; she had learned not to ask the too many questions. Mike returned to his desk and had been working through the files covering Mark Brenner's acquisition of John Cassidy's store chain for about two hours when a shadow loomed over him.

"Did you really blow up your apartment building Ross?" Kyle was grinning down at him and leaning over the small walls of his cubicle. Gregory and some of the other associates had gathered around too. Mike ignored him and kept reading. "Come on, buildings don't just collapse for no reason. Someone had to have done something. And you're just the kind of screw up to have been that someone." The others laughed and Mike looked up angrily but then another associate cut in.

"Did you cry when it happened? Probably screamed like a little girl." The group laughed again and Mike tried to decide if it was better to ignore them or fight back. The decision was made for him when Kyle cut in again.

"You're not planning on living here in the office are you? The desk is not a bed Mike." Kyle turned to the group as they started snickering again, clearly enjoying the attention.

"I'm staying with someone. So no, I will not be living at the office," Mike tried to reply casually while flipping the page. He hoped they would just leave him alone.

"Ha! Who the hell would let you stay with them? What's her name? No, I got it. You can tell us Mikey. What's HIS name?"

The group started laughing again but the ringing in Mike's ears drowned most of it out. Mike froze as he stared at the page in front him. He knew exactly what Kyle was implying but he couldn't actually deny that he was staying with a guy. It wasn't like that though, but how would he explain that to a bunch of people who didn't care what he had to say? Mike looked up at Kyle, still not sure what he was going to say, when he saw Harvey standing behind the group.

"Something you need, Harvey?" Mike asked, looking at his boss and trying to figure out how much, if anything, the senior partner had heard.

"That's good, Mike. You don't have to answer right now. It's not like we don't know the truth." Kyle had turned to leave, expecting to have the last word, when he bumped right into Harvey.

"Mr. Sp…Specter," Kyle couldn't help but stutter as he looked into the face of the firm's best attorney and tried to collect himself. "Is there something I can help with you?" The group scattered like a bunch of cockroaches when someone turns on a light. Harvey stared hard at Kyle without speaking, his hands behind his back and posture tense as he looked down at the associate. Kyle squirmed under the intense scrutiny, and Harvey knew it wouldn't take much longer before he cracked. It was one of Harvey's favorite tools, the intimidating glare coupled with silence. Never let the enemy know just how much you knew. As predicted Kyle broke not even a full minute after the staring match started. "Well, if there's nothing I can do for you at the moment, sir, I'll just get back to work." Kyle scrambled back to his desk and flipped open the first file he could get his hands on.

Mike was still staring up at Harvey when the older man looked forward again. The two shared a small grin before Harvey turned serious again. "We have that meeting with Jessica in 15 minutes. That means you better be in my office in 5 minutes so we can be at hers in 10. Got it?"

"Got it," Mike answered without hesitation and started organizing his desk, trying to keep the papers straight as he shoved them back into the folders. He could feel Harvey still standing in the same spot and Mike was sure he wanted to ask about what he had walked in. Resolutely, Mike kept his eyes down toward his desk as he worked. He really didn't want to have to explain anything.

* * *

><p>Mike approached Harvey's office with 2 minutes remaining. Donna was sitting at her desk and she smiled as Mike approached. Mike couldn't help smiling back. "Hi Donna, how are you?"<p>

"Fine," Donna was giving Mike a once over and apparently was satisfied with what she saw. "You're doing ok?"

"Yeah, thanks. Is Harvey ready? I was ordered to be here by…right now," Mike glanced at his watch as his 5 minutes expired. As if he had been waiting, and he probably had been, Harvey exited his office at exactly that moment and waved Mike after him. Donna and Mike shared a look before the younger man jogged off to catch up.

They arrived at Jessica's office and were waved in by her secretary. Jessica nodded at both men and offered them each a seat in front of her desk. "Gentlemen, I understand you needed to speak to me about something."

Harvey cut in smoothly as he unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat. He knew he didn't have to beat around the bush with Jessica, both because he liked to be direct and because she wouldn't allow anything less. "I'm sure you heard about the building collapse that happened the other day and I'm sure you know that it was Mike's building."

"Yes, I had heard about the collapse but I didn't know it was Mike's apartment building until this morning." Turning to Mike she asked "How are you holding up?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. I'm fine. Thanks." Mike wanted to slap himself. That wasn't exactly the most eloquent of answers when talking to his boss's boss. He could feel the blush and looked down hoping to hide it from the other two. He was sure it didn't work.

"Right. The reason we asked you for a couple minutes of your time is to let to you know that Mike will be staying with me for the time being until alternate arrangements can be made. We didn't want you to hear from someone else."

Jessica nodded thoughtfully as she looked back and forth between the two men sitting in front of her desk. Clearly Harvey was alright with this situation since he was asking for her blessing, of sorts. "Mike, you're sure this arrangement is what you want?"

Mike looked up at Jessica, almost surprised at being spoken to again. He glanced at Harvey quickly and then back at Jessica. He didn't really know what other arrangements could be made. Then again it didn't matter because he did want to stay with Harvey; Harvey had come to get him in the middle of the night when he had no one else to call, Harvey had held him as he cried himself to sleep that first night. The answer to Jessica's question wasn't difficult. "Yes."

"Ok. I appreciate that you're being forthright with this information." Jessica looked both men over again before nodding. Knowing a dismissal when he heard one, though he wasn't exactly pleased with being dismissed, Harvey stood up and saw Mike do the same out of the corner of his eye. As they approached the frosted glass doors of Jessica's office, her voice made them turn around. "If this becomes problematic gentlemen…" and she let her voice trail off.

"I'm just making sure the kid gets to work on time," Harvey fired back. Mike watched the two share a look between them that he knew spoke volumes even though he couldn't understand what they were saying for the life of him. Apparently the message got through because the next thing Mike knew Harvey was walking down the hall back toward his own office and Mike had to run to catch up.

* * *

><p>That night the two left the offices near midnight. They had been working through the Cassidy acquisition when they hid a speed bump; it turns out that John Cassidy had changed his mind about selling after he received a different offer and Mark Brenner was beyond livid that his deal was falling through. The contract hadn't been finalized which complicated things even further. That had left Harvey and Mike scrambling to find some way to enforce the acquisition.<p>

By the time they got back to Harvey's condo Mike was just about dead on his feet. He trudged through door behind Harvey and headed straight to the couch, flopping down the minute he was close enough. Harvey gave him a disapproving glare before he headed over to the bar and poured two glassed of scotch. He sat on the couch next to Mike and handed over the glass of alcohol. They sat next to each other silently for several minutes, both trying to let the stress of the day go.

"Want to tell me what the other associates were giving you a hard time about?"

Mike was startled when Harvey spoke. He had been in that wonderful yet curious place right before you fall asleep where you're warm all over and only barely aware of anything going on around you. Mike jerked himself back up from where he had slouched over and looked at Harvey, who was looking down into his glass. "It was nothing really, just the usual." He really hoped that he sounded convincing.

Harvey turned to look at him then but Mike couldn't maintain the eye contact. He hated lying to Harvey. "Don't lie to me." Mike flushed at being caught so easily. "If you don't want to tell me, that's your choice. But don't ever think that lying to me is the right decision." Harvey got up from the couch then and headed back toward his bedroom. Mike wanted to apologize, to thank him for showing up when he did, but he was too exhausted to move from the couch. He took his suit jacket off and removed his tie, throwing both over the back of the couch. The top couple buttons of his shirt were undone next and he kicked his shoes off before lying down on the couch. He was asleep only a couple of minutes later.

The nightmare had Mike awake again four hours later. This time he woke not by his own scream but by falling off of the couch and face-planting onto the floor. He scrambled into a sitting position and tried to get his bearings. It took a minute for him to realize where he was, recognize Harvey's condo and not his own collapsed apartment. This time he remembered the details of his nightmare, the fear and near crippling panic as his world literally fell apart around him. This time though, when he called Harvey and the other man came, it wasn't to help. Harvey had just stood there laughing, watching as Mike was swallowed up by the dark void that use to be his apartment.

Mike staggered to his feet and moved to the kitchen for some water. He really wanted to wake Harvey, to have the older man sit with him and tell him he was safe. What he really wanted was a hug. Mike snorted at his own thought. No wonder the other associates were making references to him being gay. Mike finished his glass of water and went back to the couch. Harvey would be up in an hour for work and Mike could make it that long on his own, after all Harvey was just down the hall, it wasn't like Mike was really alone. He pulled out the Brenner/Cassidy files and started reading through them again. If there was a loophole he wanted to find it.


	4. Chapter 4

It was Friday and the rest of the week had continued on in much the same fashion. Mike and Harvey would arrive at work together, tackle whatever case was on their plate, head home at the end of the day and Mike would get a couple hours of sleep before being woken by a nightmare. Some he remembered and some he didn't, but each one woke him just the same. If Harvey knew, he never said anything and Mike refused to wake him up just because he couldn't handle a dream. He was exhausted, coffee and Red Bull were doing little to help him and he was closer and closer to losing his temper. The other associates continued to harass him about anything and everything, though now they kept a lookout in case Harvey showed up again. It seemed like Mike couldn't catch a break either. Every time he and Harvey finished a case, another was thrust at them and it seemed like each one was getting more complicated.

They had closed the Brenner/Cassidy acquisition, maneuvering John Cassidy into a corner until he had no choice but to sell to Mark Brenner as per the original deal. Now they had two cases open and Mike felt like he was drowning in paperwork. He knew he was good at research but after not sleeping for about a week he had to read the same paragraph three or four times before he actually understood it.

"Did you finish the briefs on the Daniels merger?" Harvey didn't even bother to look up from his computer screen when Mike approached his desk with a number of folders in his hand.

"Not yet. These are the Jacobsen proofs. There are a couple notations in the top folder, you might want to look through those and double check but I think the wording is weak." Mike had turned to leave when Harvey's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"You're only finishing the Jacobsen case now? That should have been done two days ago. Exactly how far behind are you?" Harvey's voice was low and dangerous and the look on his face reflected the same.

Mike swallowed nervously, not wanting to admit that he was actually a day behind. He wasn't sleeping, he was only eating because Harvey made him when they got home at night and he felt like screaming himself hoarse with frustration. "You'll have the Daniels briefs when you come back from lunch and everything else by tomorrow morning." Mike really didn't mean to sound so defensive but he couldn't help it. He was irritable and cranky and miserable. What he really wanted to tell his boss was that he wouldn't be so far behind if Harvey would actually help with the paperwork from time to time but he was smart enough to bite his tongue before that actually came out of his mouth.

Harvey narrowed his eyes at his associate. He had immediately picked up on the snarky tone and he was deciding if he should call Mike on it. He knew the kid hadn't been sleeping well and he could see the stress in his shoulders and around his eyes. "You better be caught up by tomorrow morning. You can skip the meeting this afternoon but don't think that's going to become a habit if you keep falling behind." Harvey looked back to his computer and he heard Mike leave. He scrubbed a hand across his face wondering what he was going to do about the kid.

Mike sat at his desk and immediately set to work. He wanted to be caught up on everything before tomorrow if possible. He hated being behind in his work but more than that he hated disappointing Harvey. He worked steadily through the rest of the morning with a new determination. He didn't even lose his rhythm when Kyle and Gregory came over to his cubicle.

"What are you doing Ross? Working through lunch again?" Kyle always had this condescending tone in his voice whenever he spoke to Mike. It was aggravating.

"Nah Kyle, he just can't keep up with the rest of us. Some of us got it, and some of us don't," Gregory laughed as he leaned over the low wall to see what Mike was working on.

Mike was on his feet in flash, ready to let lose some of the irritation he had been carrying around the last couple of days. "I can keep up with you two imbeciles just fine, thank you. And you're right, some of us got and some of us don't. That's why I'm working for Specter and you two aren't." Mike gathered up his files as soon as he was done speaking and left. It felt good to get the last word in finally. He moved himself into an empty conference room and spread out the files on the table. Now that he had some room to work, he intended on finishing.

* * *

><p>Harvey didn't get back into the office until 4 and he was beyond livid. The meeting had taken longer than he had anticipated, and why? Mike had missed that one key piece of evidence that allowed the whole thing to fall apart. How do you do a background check on someone and miss that they've declared bankruptcy twice? No wonder his client didn't want to follow through on the deal. Now the firm was potentially going to lose the client, Harvey was going to get that talk that Jessica always gives whenever someone loses a client and Mike? He was so mad right now that he was considering firing his own damn associate. He walked the halls to his office, his brisk stride and the plain to see anger on his face clearly alerting Donna that something was very, very wrong.<p>

"What happened in the meeting? How bad is it?" Donna stood as Harvey approached.

"Where is he?"

Donna didn't need to ask who Harvey was referring to. It could only be one person. "He's in Conference Room B. Harvey…" She didn't get to finish because Harvey had started walking away as soon as he had his answer.

He approached the conference rooms and stopped at B before opening the door. "My office. Now," Harvey growled. Mike looked up in surprise. He hadn't been interrupted all afternoon and he definitely hadn't been expecting Harvey. He stood to begin organizing the files but stopped when Harvey repeated "Now." Mike moved to follow his boss down the hallway and was surprised when Harvey stopped just inside the office doors.

Harvey rounded on his associate and enjoyed the flash of surprise on his face. "How in the hell do you miss the fact that a man has declared bankruptcy twice? Did you even do the background check I told you to?"

"Of course I did! I looked into his financials like always. I found the two bankruptcies from the last 20 years and I put them in the folder on the corner of my desk…"Mike trailed off as the memory hit him like a baseball to the face. "The folder is still on my desk. Harvey I'm so sorry."

"Sorry? Sorry isn't going to cut it Mike. The whole sale fell apart, the client wants to pull out of the firm and I looked like an idiot." Harvey had started pacing. "You forgot to put the folder back into the case file? That's the stupidest of rookie mistakes. I thought we were passed that stage with you!" Harvey rounded on Mike then and the younger man took an involuntary step back. "What the hell is going on with you? Your behind in the work, your attitude has sucked and you look like crap. If you don't want to be here Mike then go. I need someone that I can trust, someone that can keep up with the pace I work at."

Mike flashed back to his cubicle earlier this afternoon when Kyle and Gregory were mocking him about having to work through lunch, asking if he had what it took to keep up. At first when Harvey started yelling at him he was surprised but as Harvey went on he began to get angry. He wanted to yell back, tell Harvey that he was doing the best that he could. That he was always tired but he couldn't sleep because the nightmares would wake him up and he was a little homesick and in a way he wanted to go back to that first night so he could just collapse into Harvey and cry like the little kid that he felt like.

But he must have been silent for too long because Harvey just nodded his head and turned away. "Get out. Out of my office and out of the building. I'll finish your work and mine and I'll let you know if you should bother coming back on Monday."

Mike just stared at Harvey's back as the older man looked out the window, hands in his pockets and shoulders tense. He wanted to say something, to beg forgiveness but the words wouldn't come out of his mouth. He stood there for another a minute, hoping that Harvey would turn around. He didn't. Mike turned and made his way to the door, opening it when Harvey spoke again. His words made Mike's blood run cold. "You should find another place to stay tonight." Mike paused and looked over at the shadow standing by the window before he left the office.

Harvey stared out of the window for several minutes, trying to get his anger in check. He turned and left his own office to go back to the conference room and see what Mike had been able to finish during the day.

Donna rounded on him as soon as she heard the door open. "What was that? I know you're mad, but Harvey he has nowhere else to go. He screwed up but did you really need to kick him out? You're supposed to be helping him through this, remember?"

"I have been helping him. I gave him a place to stay, didn't I? I helped him get some of his stuff replaced and I bought him whatever he needed."

"But have you talked to him?" Donna knew how to get to the heart of the matter. It was one of the things that Harvey both loved and hated about her. Other people would have let him stay angry, maybe even supported him in that anger, but not Donna.

Harvey sighed and ran a hand down his face, shoulders slumping in what some might call defeat. "I told you that I had no idea what I was doing. He hasn't come to me to talk and I'm not going to chase him about it. And, before you even ask, no I'm not going to fire him." Harvey made his way to the conference room, ending the conversation with Donna because he really didn't know what else to say.

He picked through the files on the table, surprised to see that Mike had finished most of it. Obviously he had worked hard this afternoon to be able to catch up on almost all the work he had been behind with. Well if that just didn't make Harvey feel worse than he already felt. He took off his suit jacket and laid it over the chair next to him, sitting down and pulling over some papers. It should only take him two hours maybe to finish.

* * *

><p>Mike stood on the sidewalk outside the building looking up and down the street. He had no idea where he should go, he didn't have his bike to just ride around like he normally would which meant he would have to walk to wherever. He hadn't felt this miserable in a long time. Coupled with his own issues now he had let Harvey down, made a monumental mistake and lost whatever respect Harvey might have had for him. There was no way he could fix this, not when Harvey wouldn't even talk to him. Maybe he didn't belong at Pearson Hardman after all. He was just a screw up kid who hadn't actually even gone to law school. Maybe he should leave like Harvey had told him to. The older man had much more to lose than he did; a solid career and an actual law license. Mike didn't want to quit though, this was the one time in his life when didn't want to quit something.<p>

Mike looked around trying to get his bearings. At some point while he was lost in his own thoughts he must have started walking. His head was such a jumble of thoughts and emotions and Mike had no idea how to start sifting through them. He needed to clear his head, to stop his own thoughts and silence that inner voice in his head that was still laughing at him, telling him it was only a matter of time before Harvey fired him. Mike recognized the neighborhood easily enough. He and Trevor used to come here and buy off a dealer that they knew. He knew from experience that getting high would shut up the voices in his head. But he had promised Harvey that he wouldn't get high anymore…but Harvey was mad at him, kicked him out of the condo for the night and was probably going to fire him. If he ever needed to get high, this was the time.

* * *

><p>Harvey had been reclining on the couch watching the end of the Yankees game when the knock came on the door. He got up and looked through the peephole to see a blond head bowed and Mike leaning on one arm against the door. Harvey let out a sigh of relief, glad that the kid had come back. He opened the door and Mike looked up and Harvey was angry all over again.<p>

"You're high," Harvey muttered after only a few seconds of staring. Mike's eyes were puffy and bloodshot and the aroma of marijuana still wafted up from his clothes. Harvey was angry and he felt betrayed and he was about to shut the door in Mike's face when the younger man started speaking, his voice hurried yet weak and a pleading look on his face.

"I know. I'm sorry, I really am. I don't have anywhere else to go Harvey. I know I screwed up before leaving the folder on my desk and I'm sorry about that too. I've just been so stressed lately and I can't sleep and I know you're going to fire me but please don't. Please. I can fix this, I can. I know I shouldn't have gotten high but I had to shut up the voices in my head and this is the only thing that works. Harvey…please," Mike trailed off at the end, having run out of things to say and he wasn't even sure what he was begging Harvey for at this point.

Harvey had been eyeing Mike the entire time he was talking. Maybe it had been his earlier conversation with Donna, or the tears in Mike's eyes or his own guilt that maybe he had pushed Mike to this point, whatever it was Harvey knew he couldn't just leave Mike in the hallway. He pushes the door open and lets Mike duck under his arm and into the condo. The kid stands just inside the door, obviously still nervous. Harvey walks back into the living room and then turns to Mike. "First of all, you don't have any of that crap on you, do you?" After Mike shakes his head Harvey continues. "Take a shower and change so you don't smell like pot for the rest of night. When you're done get your ass back out here."

Mike just nodded before heading to the closet where he had been keeping his clothes. He grabbed a fresh shirt and pants and heading into the bathroom. He showered quickly, afraid of what Harvey might decide to do if he took too long. It was time to own up to his mistakes like a man. Mike opened the bathroom door and walked down the hall to the living room where Harvey was standing at the windows. He stands next to the couch, with his hands in his pockets and he waits.


	5. Chapter 5

The two men stood on opposite ends of the couch, Harvey staring at Mike and Mike looking down at his shoes. The silence was stretching on between them while Harvey gathered his thoughts about the young man in front of him. He knew that he had every right to be pissed and part of him wanted to throw Mike out of the apartment again just so he wouldn't have to deal this. The other part of him, the part that had grown inexplicably fond of Mike wanted him to help the kid. He decided that he should listen to that second part of him this time. He had told Mike once that he was responsible for him. That hadn't changed.

Harvey's voice cut into Mike's thoughts and Mike couldn't stop the flinch at the steel in his voice. "I'm going to ask you some questions Mike and you're going to answer them. Honestly. If you even try lying to me I'll know. I already told you once that lying to me is never the right decision."

Mike looked up at the man that he considered his mentor and knew that he owed Harvey a lot more than the honesty that he was currently demanding. Mike nodded both to show that he understood the instructions and in acknowledgement that Harvey had indeed told him this before. He shifted his weight nervously and waited for the inquisition that he knew he deserved.

"Do I want to know where you got the stuff?" Mike was a little surprised that this was the first question Harvey decided to ask. Harvey, on the other hand, wanted Mike off balance so the kid wouldn't be able to dodge any questions.

"I use to be a professional pothead, I know where to get it." Mike cringed at the flippant answer. He had been going for funny, but fell far short of that goal.

If it was possible Harvey's voice turned even colder. "Don't get smart with me. This is your one and only warning. Another answer like that and you're out of here." Mike flushed at the reprimand. Harvey moved closer to Mike, crowding his personal space and forcing Mike to either look up at him or fall over. You had to press when you had an advantage. "You said you can't sleep. Explain."

"Nightmares. I can only sleep for three, maybe four hours if I'm lucky and then I wake up. Sometimes I don't even know what happened in the dream and all that I'm left with is this residual fear or panic that I can't explain."

"Why didn't you come get me, wake me up?" Harvey had suspected that nightmares would be the reason Mike hadn't been sleeping but he was glad that Mike admitted it. He needed the kid to be honest right now, for both of their sakes.

"I didn't think that we both needed to lose sleep. Someone had to be rested enough to concentrate at work. Besides, I'm a grown man. I should be able to handle some dreams." Mike couldn't keep the self-loathing out of his voice and it cut like a blade across Harvey's chest.

"You're a puppy." Harvey's voice had softened without his permission and even Mike was able to pick up on the exasperated fondness that lurked just beneath the surface.

Mike had hated it when Harvey had first started referring to him as a puppy but now he recognized the nickname as one of Harvey's ways of showing that he cared without actually having to say that he cared. Mike felt some of the tension leave his body. Maybe this mess hadn't gotten completely out of hand yet, it just might be salvageable. Mike saw the ray of light at the end of the tunnel and he was determined to reach it, to come out the other side whole.

Harvey could see that Mike was starting to get lost in thoughts which reminded Harvey of something else that the kid had said during that rant in the hallway. Harvey crossed his arms over chest and plunged ahead before he lost complete control of the situation. "What did you mean you had to silence the voices in your head?"

Mike broke eye contact and looked over Harvey's shoulder, sighing before answering. "I'm not crazy or anything. It's not that kind of voice. For as long as I can remember my own subconscious has been one of my own worst enemies. It's always telling me that I'm not good enough, that I'm just a screw up. When you kicked me out of your office this evening that little voice was all too happy to start babbling about how I was a disappointment and untrustworthy and how having me around was a liability for you." Mike wasn't sure if he was embarrassed or relieved as he admitted all of this to Harvey. No one besides Trevor knew about his complete lack of self-confidence. He didn't even understand why he felt this way about himself. "Getting high was the only thing that made the damn voice go away. I don't know how else to make it shut up."

Harvey watched the range of emotions pass over Mike's face. He knew that the young man was constantly in need of validation but Harvey had never expected it to be this big of a problem for him. He would have to remember to give the kid a pat on the back a little more often. "Listen up rookie because I'm only saying this once. You're not a disappointment. I wouldn't keep you around if you were. You're not a screw up either. You might make bad choices, tonight being a prime example, and you might forget important folders on your desk, like today, but that doesn't make you a screw up. It makes you human. So you tell that voice in your head to shove it."

Mike couldn't help the light chuckle that escaped at the end. It was such a Harvey thing to say; to just basically tell yourself off because you don't like what you're telling yourself. "I don't know if that work, but I'll try." Mike returned his gaze to Harvey's face, wanting to make sure that Harvey knew he was serious.

"You said you could fix this. What 'this' were you referring to?"

Mike sighed and broke eye contact again. He didn't know if he could admit this while looking at Harvey. "Us. I know I screwed up. And I know that getting high tonight only made things worse. I was so miserable the whole time I was smoking. That's never happened before, you know? I just kept thinking about the promise I made you. And I realized that this is the first time that I don't want to give up, just walk away and forget about everything. I know that you're not going to forgive me right away, assuming you're going to forgive me at all, but I knew had to come back and try to apologize, to make things right between us."

Well, shit. Harvey sighed, his shoulders finally relaxing and Mike almost wanted to cheer. Harvey turned back toward the couch and sat, indicating that Mike should do the same. "Couple of ground rules, kid. First, if you _ever_ get high again, we're done. No apologies, no excuses, nothing. You're fired and I don't want to see you again." Mike gulped and nodded. That was going to be a pretty effective method of keeping Mike away from weed for the rest of his life. "Second, you wake me up if you have a nightmare. You don't have to sit by yourself when I'm just in the other room. Understand?" Again Mike nodded, relieved because clearly this meant that Harvey wasn't going to kick him out of the condo again. "Third, if you start falling behind in paperwork, tell me. I'll give you shit about it but I'll help you."

"You'll help me?"

"Believe it or not I was an associate too once upon a time and I do know how to do paperwork. Part of the perks of not being the puppy anymore is having someone else around to do it for you. Now, fourth, you talk to me if something like that idiotic voice in your head is bothering you. I can't fix the problem if I don't know that one exists. I can't exactly hear the voice that lives in your head." Mike grinned, acknowledging the truth of that statement, regardless of how ridiculous it sounded. "I'm serious Mike. You have to talk to me when something is bothering you. I'm not going to chase you down. You come to me and I promise to listen."

"I promise." Mike meant it. The two men sat on the couch, Sports Center playing quietly in the background. The silence was becoming comfortable again although Mike knew that there were still things that they were going to have to talk about, but enough had been said tonight. He settled on the couch facing the TV and laid his head back. He was exhausted, but not the bone weary tired that he had been all week. Instead it was the kind of pleasant exhausted that you get after emotional conversations when everything in your world is starting to correct itself. His eyes were becoming heavier and he knew he was going to be asleep in another couple of minutes. He could feel his head listing over to the side until it bumped into Harvey's shoulder. Mike was going to move and was preparing to mumble an apology, until he felt Harvey shift his arm around his shoulders and pull him that little bit closer. Mike fell asleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

><p>Monday rolled around, the weekend having been uneventful after Friday night. They had talked some more, relaxed around the condo and went out for dinner when neither felt like cooking. As they approached Harvey's office Donna looked up and graced both of them with a smile, obviously pleased that they had reconciled. Harvey allowed himself to grin back at her as Donna passed him his messages, squeezed Mike's arm and went back to her computer.<p>

The two worked steadily through the morning in Harvey's office going through the remainder of the paperwork from the weekend and starting the files for their new case. They had some initial proposals set up and Harvey gathered the paperwork and stood up. "Good work, Mike. I'm going to head over and meet with the client, show him the proposals and see if he'll agree."

Mike looked up startled. "I'm not going?"

Harvey looked at his associate carefully before responding, keeping his voice honest but not angry. "No, you're not going. What you said the other night was right on. I'm not going to forgive you completely right away. You're going to have to work for it. If you're serious about not quitting this, then prove it to me. You can start coming to meetings again when I'm convinced that you've got your act together."

Mike nodded. If Harvey wanted him to prove his loyalty, then he would. He had meant it when he promised Harvey that would fix this and if that meant staying at the office and doing paperwork, then so be it. He gathered up his supplies as Harvey left the office and he went back to his cubicle to start on the next batch of files. He was interrupted two hours later by a text from Harvey telling him that the client went for his proposal. Mike grinned and got back to work.

* * *

><p>It was almost two full weeks later when Mike was allowed to go to a meeting again. Harvey even let him do some of the talking. The two weeks had passed by uneventfully; occasionally they would bring work home with them instead of staying late at the office and Harvey even took Mike to a Yankees game ("It's a sin to live in this city and not go to the Stadium regularly"). Their relationship was back to normal. They bantered back and forth, they argued about what to have for dinner and whose turn it was to cook. Underneath that though was a new level of honesty between them that Mike was eternally grateful for. Harvey had been true to his word and he listened when Mike needed to talk about a nightmare (which were becoming less frequent) or when he just needed to vent about his frustrations. It was comforting to know that he had someone he could go to.<p>

Mike had gotten word from the engineers that he could move back into his apartment by the end of the month. While he was sad to be leaving, he couldn't deny that he was excited about getting back to his own place.

When the day came to move out, Harvey helped him box up his things and drive him across town to his apartment building. They unpacked and reorganized the new things with the stuff already in Mike's apartment. Luckily the damage to his area of the building had been very minimal so there wasn't really anything broken or much to be cleaned up.

Finally everything had been put in its place and the boxes had been collapsed and piled near the door for recycling. The two men were sitting on the couch, finishing up the movie that had been on when Harvey started talking.

"Just so you know, Mike, the ground rules don't change just because you aren't living with me anymore. I still expect you to hold up your end of the agreement." Harvey looked over from his spot on the couch to Mike sitting next to him.

"I know. I learned my lesson Harvey. I won't screw up like that again. I promise."

Harvey got up and prepared to leave. "Good. If you need something, you call me. Or you can come over if that'll make you feel better. You seemed to get along with my couch well enough so if you start to miss it I'll let you borrow it from time to time." Mike rolled his eyes at that but he heard the message underneath; he was welcomed to crash at Harvey's if he needed the company or someone to talk to.

Harvey had made his way to the door and was about to open it when Mike spoke. "Harvey, I don't think that I can thank you enough. For letting me stay with you, for not firing me when you by every right should have, for putting up with my shit when you shouldn't have to. I don't know how to make all of this up to you."

"You keep your promise. That's how."

Mike nodded solemnly. That was one promise he intended on never breaking. "Done."

"Night pup."


End file.
